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August 2021 Moms
surrenderdorothy
member
January Mental Health Check-In
surrenderdorothy
member
This is a thread to discuss and receive support for pregnancy and non-pregnancy related mental health. How are you doing this month?
Re: January Mental Health Check-In
I’ve done a crappy job of working out this week- my normal outlet- due to being so tired and nausea in the morning. I’m really hoping I feel better and can get back on the wagon soon. Thankfully I was recently able to start seeing a therapist (after being on a waitlist for months). I’ve only had a few sessions so we are still getting to know each other. I think she will be helpful navigating all the things that come with pregnancy and bringing a second baby into the world.
On a positive note, work was really chill this week. I was expecting to walk back into an endless to do list after being on vacation for ten days but it wasn’t too bad. Also, Sunday I’m getting together with my best girlfriends for our belated holiday gift exchange. I am so excited to see them and spend time together. We’ve only hung out once as a group since last Mardi Gras due to Covid.
I can't begin to understand how you folks South of the boarder feel. We are in shock up here in Canada and hope everything works out well.
MH and I were actually talking about my mood last night. I've struggled with depression for about 15 years (which plays a huge part in my struggle to eat). We both see how much better my mood is when I'm pregnant. Its so strange, I'm less moody and testy. I think a big part of that is because I'm not always on the 2 week cycle of PMS.
I'm really worried about PPD, which has played a big roll in me being terrified to birth my own kids.
Anyway, I love talking about mental health and (trying) to offer advice, so I hope if anyone needs a hand they reach out here.
I'm constantly dealing with anxiety, though it's improved quite a bit since starting medication in August. I'm immensely grateful my doctor said I was safe to continue taking it through my pregnancy because I felt paralyzed by it for months and didn't want to go back to that.
My struggle this week is that it was announced today that educators are eligible for the vaccine starting next week but I talked to a nurse in my OB's office and she doesn't think my doctor is currently recommending it for his pregnant patients. I'm planning to ask him directly at my next injection appointment on Tuesday, especially with my exposure and risk level.
Thankfully I had started therapy about a month before we got pregnant. It's sort of helping but also sort of just feels like I pay someone a lot of money to say all the things in my head out loud.
I am excited about our pregnancy but now also anxious something might not be right. I am hopeful our ultrasound helps with that but I also know I might just be on to the next worry once we are over that hump.
I'm really trying to sit with what I need to not bake this little one in stress and anxiousness for the next 7 months. I also have this impending dread and bliss about maternity leave.
Next weekend we are going to see the mom of one of our best friends who passed away very unexpectedly on Christmas Day. My husband and I are trying to prepare but I anticipate we will have all the feels. It's hard to be going through this, and also hard that my only respite from work will be a sad and emotionally draining weekend.
Nothing much really here except to say that mental health is freaking hard. I am so frustrated it's not something I can just "fix" for myself.
*edited to fix a typo
Right now, I live in the US and my fellow Americans I'm sure can attest to added stress this week. The whole last year really. I'm also constantly concerned about my health or the baby's. There is no reason or cause for alarm or concerns, I just can't get rare, super unlikely what-ifs out of my head. Now that I have our new insurance info, I need see if I can find a therapist that's covered. I've had really experience with coping and healing in therapy and I need to get back to more stable place.
My daughter told my parents about the pregnancy today. She literally said I have a secret I can't tell you then told them. I'd been dreading this. My parents have been relatively negative with the timing of all of our babies. We even waited until after 20 weeks to tell them about our third because of it. But anyway, my dad had his little tirade of "well I've gotta make sure your husband can support you" nonsense and finished with "I am really happy for you. I'm really happy your pregnant, I'm sorry I went all dad on you before saying that" and my mom was excited. So that was helpful. It took away a bit of that stress.
I had severe PPA with DD as well. Mine was really exacerbated by nursing (hormones) so once I weaned I was able to go off the meds I'd started taking after DD's birth. I guess I'd always had anxiety but never realized that's what it was until it got severe after her birth. Since then though it's been generally manageable and I've used talk therapy at times it hasn't been. I was very anxious during my first pregnancy about rare side effects and bad stuff happening for no reason. Maybe because they thought I had cancer most of the pregnancy so there was a cloud hanging over me. Now that my wife has actually had cancer I think we've sort of been through the worst. I'll probably never stop worrying about it returning but it's put things in perspective I guess. So I would say overall this time I'm doing much better, and I know to and will ask for help if things go awry. I'd definitely prefer to skip meds if possible, but won't hesitate this time if I feel anything like I did with DD.
I am in a weird funk. Work is fine (running schools is a pandemic is a s*** show, but I have accepted that), but my CFO went on maternity leave 2 months early than expected. Thankfully she and baby are healthy, but it left a huge gap since we hadn't finished transitioning tasks or hiring her new assistant. So I get to train the new person starting tomorrow and I dont know what I am doing completely. 🙃 That will be fun.
I still haven't fully accepted that this pregnancy is happening and we will have two children. Hard to explain. I have the nausea and other symptoms, so I know it's real. But between hesitancy on if we are ready and a strange underlying funk, this is a different experience than with our first.
Our area did open up vaccines to pregnant women now, so that was a positive note. I should be eligible in 3 weeks, provided supply is available. Before they only had two sites and those sites will not vaccinate pregnant women for some reason, but the new county sites are going to offer it.